It's a bit bizarre but not totally regretful at all to see one's favourite author hit the small and big silver screen. It's strange, he's got a show on the telly, is a successful author and now this...a screenplay turned movie. Enough chatting about Coupland...more of this film...yes?So, it starts out with Ryan who
works at a mediocre job doing well 'a mediocre job' until the company finds his poetry on the computer and suspends him for his 'dark images' which they would happily help out by 'paying for a therapist'. Completely, dumbfounded he goes to pack up his stuff and then gets a strange call from his parents. His mother is telling him, 'you've got to come home now!' Hearing shouting in the background he inquires as to what's going on only to hear, 'we've won the lottery! Come home now!' Completely ecstatic he throws his junk off his desk and tells his cubicle-mate to have whatever the hell he wants 'cause he won't need it anymore.When he gets home, his house is in a state of disarray everyone is searching frantically for the winning ticket his father misplaced! Finally, after much searching it comes up and they ring the lottery line to hear that unfortunately they didn't win? To make things stranger, he gets offered a job from the guy on the phone.His brother - scamming the real estate business hooks him up with a building no one lives in, and he sets off for his job interview. On the way over, he hears on the radio of a beached whale and makes a giant detour to check out the scene. At the same time, he meets a girl who ruins his photo-taking skills and the two start talking. After much interesting conversation, he realizes he's LATE for the interview! And scrambles over there as fast as he can, and strangely enough gets the job by just sitting in a chair and smiling like an idiot.If you don't think it's pretty intense already, wait until what happens when he starts working there and all the sort of hijinx he gets up to by just associating himself with certain people.This is truly Coupland, through and through. Poignant, complex [yet simple] and completely profound with the strangest sense of humour.This is a story of how to literally say 'FUCK THE SYSTEM' and then learn...maybe that's too big of an idea for anyone to take on without consequence.
January 17, 2008
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